Tag Archives: the nature collection

LEAVES.
There are many kinds of leaves. You may want to collect only one kind at a time. Start by collecting broad leaves, or narrow leaves, or autumn leaves. Some people collect green leaves in the summer, and hunt for the same kinds of leaves in the fall when they have changed colors.
When you gather leaves, take only the ones with stems attached. Your leaves will keep their color for a long time if you place each leaf on a newspaper, cover it with a sheet of wax paper, and press it with a hot iron.
Or press the leaf between the pages of a big book. When the leaf becomes flat and crisp, paste it in a leaf scrapbook.

FERNS.
If you live near cool, damp woods, you can start a collection of ferns. Some fern leaves are shaped like hearts, and others are long and narrow.
Ferns should be placed on a newspaper, covered with wax paper, and pressed with a hot iron before they are pasted in a fern scrapbook. Ferns will stay pretty a long time if you cover each page with a sheet of cellophane paper.

WILD FLOWERS.
Place each flower between two sheets of newspaper before putting it into a big book. The newspaper will soak up the water from the flower so it won’t become moldy. Change the paper several times until the flower is flat and dry. Then tape the flower in your flower scrapbook and cover it with cellophane.
Other things you can collect from the woods or fields are seeds, acorns, bark from trees, and even birds’ nests.